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Conservation matters: FEATURE | CITES
CITES and new herp listings
The red-tailed knobby newt
(Tylototriton kweichowensis)
now has a higher level of
protection under CITES.
Photo courtesy Milan Zygmunt/www.
shutterstock.com
What are the recent CITES listing
changes and what do they mean for
herp owners? Dr. Thomas E.J. Leuteritz
from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
explains.
D
id you know that your pet It is not just live
herp may be a species of animals that are
protected wildlife? Many covered by CITES,
exotic reptiles and but parts and
derivatives too, such
amphibians are protected under
as crocodile skins
CITES, also known as the Convention that feature in the
on International Trade in Endangered leather trade. Plants
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. and timber are also
Initiated in 1973, CITES is an included.
international agreement currently Photo courtesy asharkyu/
www.shutterstock.com
signed by 182 countries and the
European Union (also known as responsibility of the Secretary of the How does CITES work?
Parties), which regulates Interior, who has tasked the U.S. Fish Species protected by CITES are
international trade in more than and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as the included in one of three lists,
35,000 wild animal and plant species, lead agency responsible for the referred to as Appendices, according
including their parts, products, and Convention’s implementation. You to the degree of protection they
derivatives. can help USFWS conserve these need: Appendix I includes species
The aim of CITES is to ensure that species by complying with CITES threatened with extinction and
international trade in specimens of and other wildlife laws to ensure provides the greatest level of
wild animals and plants does not that your activities as a pet owner or protection, including restrictions on
threaten their survival in the wild. In seller are lawful and supportive, commercial trade. Appendix II
the United States, the recognizing the threats that harm includes species that, although
implementation of CITES is the wild populations. currently not threatened with
MARCH/APRIL 2020 | 29
FEATURE | CITES
extinction, may become so without trade
regulations to ensure trade is legal and
sustainable. Appendix III includes species
protected by at least one country that
needs assistance from other Parties to
monitor its international trade.
Changes to Appendices I and II must be
proposed by a Party at a meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (CoP) in
accordance with the CITES Trade and The bizarre leaf-nosed lizard
(Ceratophora tennentii) has just been
Biological Criteria (as set out under listed on Appendix I.
Resolution Conf. 9.24) and agreed to by Photo courtesy reptiles4all/www.shutterstock.com
consensus or by a two-thirds majority of
the Parties present and voting. In contrast
additions to Appendix III can be done by
individual Parties at any time.
Newly-protected reptiles
and amphibians
Every 2-3 years, the member countries to various animal and plant species covered federalregister.gov/).
CITES hold a meeting of the CoP to review, by the agreement. The U.S. public has input At the recent 18th Conference of the
discuss, and negotiate changes in the to these decisions through our Federal Parties (CoP18), held in Geneva,
management and control of trade in the Register comment process (https://www. Switzerland, last August (originally
scheduled for Colombo, Sri Lanka in May/
The Rio Aguan Valley spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura June but relocated because of the terrorist
melanosterna) - one of the new species that now bombings on April 21, 2019), CITES Parties
features on CITES Appendix II. decided to increase protections for many
Photo courtesy reptiles4all/www.shutterstock.com herp species. They included agamid lizards,
geckos, spiny-tailed iguanas, Iranian viper,
Vietnamese freshwater turtles, an African
tortoise, and Asian newts, as indicated
below. Herps represented a third of all 57
species proposals considered at the CoP
(including one crocodile species that is not
covered here). These new CITES listings
subsequently came into effect on
November 26, 2019.
The lists below include species adopted
at CITES CoP18 (https://cites.org/eng/
cop/18/prop/index.php).
I (12):
Species added to Appendix
Reptiles (12)
■ Ceratophora erdeleni (Erdelen’s horn lizard)
■ Ceratophora karu (Karunaratne’s (horn) lizard)
■ Ceratophora tennentii (leaf-nose lizard)
■ Cophotis ceylanica (pygmy lizard)
■ Cophotis dumbara (Knuckles pygmy lizard)
■ Lyriocephalus scutatus (hump-nosed lizard)
■ Gonatodes daudini (Grenadines clawed gecko)
■ Cuora bourreti (Bourret's box turtle)
■ Cuora picturata (Vietnamese box turtle) An increasingly rare sight - Annam leaf turtles in the wild, where they are declining fast
because of hunting pressure. The natural habitat of this species is a small area in the central part
■ Mauremys annamensis (Annam leaf turtle)
of Vietnam. It was even feared to be extinct in the wild for a time, and now has the highest level of
■ Geochelone elegans (Indian Star tortoise) protection under CITES, although this does not protect these turtles from being hunted in their
■ Malacochersus tornieri (pancake tortoise) homeland, as CITES only impacts on international trade. Photo courtesy jurra8/www.shutterstock.com
30 | Reptiles
II (76):
Species added to Appendix FEATURE | CITES
Reptiles (36)
■ *Ceratophora aspera (rough-nosed horn lizard)
■ *Ceratophora stoddartii (rhino-horn lizard)
■ Goniurosaurus araneus (Vietnamese leopard gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus catbaensis (Cat Ba tiger gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus bawanglingensis (Bawangling leopard gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus hainanensis (Hainan cave gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus huuliensis (Huulien tiger gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus kadoorieorum (Kadoories' cave gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus kwangsiensis (Guangxi cave gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus liboensis (Libo leopard gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi (Lichtenfelder’s tiger gecko)
■ Goniurosaurus luii (Chinese leopard gecko) The bizarre spider-tailed horned viper from Iran, whose tail has a bulb-like
■ Goniurosaurus yingdeensis (Yingde leopard gecko) tip which resembles an insect and attracts unsuspecting birds that the snake
■ Goniurosaurus zhelongi (Zhe-long's leopard gecko) can then catch, was the only serpent given increased protection under CITES
■ Goniurosaurus zhoui (Zhou’s leopard gecko) this time. Photo courtesy reptiles4all/www.shutterstock.com
■ Gekko gecko (tokay gecko)
■ Paroedura androyensis (Grandidier's Madagascar ground gecko) ■ **Ctenosaura melanosterna (Rio Aguan Valley spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura acanthura (Veracruz spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura nolascensis (San Pedro Nolasco spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura alfredschmidti (Campeche spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura oaxacana (Oaxaca spiny-tailed iguana)
■ **Ctenosaura bakeri (Bakers spiny-tailed iguana) ■ **Ctenosaura oedirhina (De Queiroz's spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura clarki (Mexican spiny-tailed iguana) ■ **Ctenosaura palearis (Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura conspicuosa (San Esteban spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura pectinata (Mexican black spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura defensor (Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura praeocularis (Southern Honduran spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura flavidorsalis (yellow-backed spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura quinquecarinata (five-keeled spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura hemilopha (Baja California spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Ctenosaura similis (common spiny-tailed iguana)
■ Ctenosaura macrolopha (Sonoran spiny-tailed iguana) ■ Pseudocerastes urarachnoides (spider-tailed horned viper)
Note: * these two species of Ceratophora included in Appendix II with a zero export quota for wild specimens traded for commercial
purposes ** these four species of Ctenosaura have been on Appendix II since 2010 (CoP15)
Amphibians (40)
■ Echinotriton chinhaiensis (Chinhai spiny newt)
■ Echinotriton maxiquadratus (mountain spiny newt)
■ Paramesotriton aurantius (orange-colored warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton caudopunctatus (spot-tailed warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton chinensis (Chinese warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton fuzhongensis (Wanggao warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton labiatus (spotless smooth warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton longliensis (Longli warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton maolanensis (Maolan warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton qixilingensis (Qixiling warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton wulingensis (Wulin warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton yunwuensis (Yunwu warty newt) One of amphibians which have just been transferred to CITES Appendix II -
■ Paramesotriton zhijinensis (Zhijin warty newt) the Vietnam warty newt (Paramesotriton deloustali).
Photo courtesy reptiles4all/www.shutterstock.com
■ Paramesotriton deloustali (Vietnam warty newt)
■ Paramesotriton guangxiensis (Guangxi warty newt) ■ Tylototriton panhai (Panha’s crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton anguliceps (angular-headed newt) ■ Tylototriton podichthys (Luang Phabang crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton anhuiensis (Anhui knobby newt) ■ Tylototriton pseudoverrucosus (Southern Sichuan crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton asperrimus (Black knobby newt) ■ Tylototriton pulcherrimus (none)
■ Tylototriton broadoridgus (Sangzhi crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton shanjing (emperor newt)
■ Tylototriton dabienicus (Dabie Mountain crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton shanorum (Taunggyi crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton hainanensis (Hainan knobby newt) ■ Tylototriton taliangensis (Taliang knobby newt)
■ Tylototriton himalayanus (Himalayan salamander) ■ Tylototriton uyenoi (Chiang Mai crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton kweichowensis (red-tailed knobby newt) ■ Tylototriton verrucosus (Himalayan (crocodile) newt)
■ Tylototriton liuyangensis (Liuyang crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton vietnamensis (Vietnamese crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton lizhenchangi (Mangshan crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton wenxianensis (Wenxian knobby newt)
■ Tylototriton ngarsuensis (Ywangan crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton yangi (Tiannan crocodile newt)
■ Tylototriton notialis (Khammouan crocodile newt) ■ Tylototriton ziegleri (Ziegler's crocodile newt)
MARCH/APRIL 2020 | 31
II (76):
Species added to Appendix
| CITES (15)
FEATURE
Invertebrates
■ Poecilotheria chaojii (none)
■ Poecilotheria fasciata (Sri Lankan ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria formosa (Salem ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica (Rameswaram ornamental
tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty sapphire ornamental
tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria miranda (none)
■ Poecilotheria ornata (fringed ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria rajaei (none)
■ Poecilotheria regalis (Indian ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria rufilata (red slate ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria smithi (yellow-backed ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria striata (Mysore ornamental tarantula)
■ Poecilotheria subfusca (ivory-billed ornamental tarantula)
All invertebrates whose CITES status has changed are species of ornamental/
■ Poecilotheria tigrinawesseli (Wessel’s tiger ornamental parachute spiders/tarantulas (Poecilotheria sp.). They include the Gooty
tarantula) sapphire ornamental tarantula shown here.
■ Poecilotheria vittata (ghost ornamental tarantula) Photo courtesy Dan Olsen/www.shutterstock.com
seizures involving freshwater turtles and poaching pressure, particularly for the
Appendix I or tortoises. Illegal trade in the Indian star
tortoise is most common in Thailand,
international live trade to meet demand for
the exotic pet market because of its
II vs III? however additional recent seizures beautiful shell pattern.
occurred in Germany, Indonesia, the The proposal to transfer the Indian star
A species is unilaterally listed in Netherlands, the Philippines, Slovakia, tortoise from Appendix II to Appendix I was
Appendix III by a country in the native Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United accepted by consensus by the Parties (with
range of that species, at the request of States. support from both India and Sri Lanka).
that country. In contrast, a species is In most cases, seizures are made from air This Appendix I listing will provide the
listed in Appendix I or II by consensus travelers arriving from Asia, as well as some highest level of international protection.
or a 2/3 vote of the Parties. For the from express mail parcels sent from Asia. Captive–bred specimens of this Appendix I
export of specimens of an Appendix III Studies have shown that these seizures species will need to come from CITES
species, the Management Authority in represent only the tip of a far larger registered and approved breeding facilities.
the country of export need only iceberg. This medium-sized tortoise is For additional information see: https://
determine that the specimens were not endemic to parts of India, Pakistan, and Sri cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/18/
obtained in contravention of that Lanka and is in rapid decline due to heavy prop/060319/E-CoP18-Prop-36.pdf .
country’s laws for the protection of
animals and plants. In contrast, the
export of specimens of an Appendix II
species requires that the CITES
authorities in the country of export
determine that the specimens were
acquired legally and that their export
will not be detrimental to the survival
of the species.
For a complete list of species protected
under CITES, please check the CITES
Species Database at https://www.
speciesplus.net/
Higher protection for the
world’s most trafficked tortoise
The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone
elegans) has the unfortunate distinction of
being considered the world’s most
trafficked tortoise. Numerically, this species
is the single most commonly seized species
of tortoise or freshwater turtle worldwide,
representing around 11% of all global Star tortoises are currently subject to high levels of illegal international trade. Photo courtesy World Animal Protection.
32 | Reptiles
FEATURE | CITES
What do the new listings mean
to herp owners?
Unless they are moving animals across an
international border, these listings will have
little effect on the average hobbyist or pet
owner. If you do own any of the newly-
listed species and plan to travel
internationally with your pets, please refer
to the USFWS website "Personal Pets”
section found here: https://www.fws.gov/
international/Permits/by-activity/personal-
pets.html Further
As a pet owner and consumer, you
should make sure that you always purchase
CITES plays an invaluable role in helping to information
monitor international trade in wildlife and wildlife To learn more about the herp
herps from a reputable seller/breeder/ products through its system of permits. Photo courtesy
dealer. Ask questions. Where did the muratart/www.shutterstock.com proposals that the United States
animals come from? Were the animals submitted for consideration to CoP18,
legally acquired? If the juveniles are What about importers and please refer to the proposal for
obviously captive-bred, were the parents exporters? pancake tortoises, available at https://
legally acquired? Be an educated consumer Animal importers and exporters need to www.fws.gov/international/cites/
and help protect the animals in the trade. obtain proper legal documentation before cop18/pdfs/cop18-proposal-
Keep a record of your purchase with importing and/or exporting CITES-listed malacochersus-tornieri.pdf, and the
receipts in a permanent file so that you will species. The backbone of CITES is the the proposal for the tokay gecko,
be prepared to apply for permits in the regulatory permit system that facilitates available at https://www.fws.gov/
future, if needed. international cooperation in conservation international/cites/cop18/pdfs/
and trade monitoring. Permits are issued cop18-proposal-gekko-gecko.pdf. For
only if a country’s CITES Authorities a complete overview of USFWS
determine that trade is legal and submissions to CoP18, visit https://
sustainable, meaning that it does not
www.fws.gov/international/cites/
threaten the species’ survival in the wild.
cop18/us-submissions.html.
The use of standardized permit forms
For all proposals submitted to CoP18
allows inspection officials at ports of export
and import to verify quickly that CITES- see https://cites.org/eng/cop/18/prop/
listed specimens are properly documented. index.php. For details about permit
Appendices I, II, and III species require application forms, visit www.fws.gov/
applicants to submit standard application international/permits/do-i-need-a-
forms and fees to USFWS in order to obtain permit.html. For details about permit
CITES export or import permits to move procedures for freshwater turtles, visit
specimens across international borders. https://www.fws.gov/international/
Permit systems also facilitate the permits/by-species/freshwater-turtles.
collection of species-specific trade data, html. For more information about
which are used in the creation of annual CITES and what species are found on
reports. These data help to determine the Appendices, please refer to www.
trends in trade and ensure that trade in cites.org/. If you have questions or
wildlife is sustainable. This trade seek further information, email
monitoring has created a substantial body managementauthority@fws.gov with
of information on the management and questions about permits, or email
use of CITES species worldwide. Importers scientificauthority@fws.gov with
and exporters, please make sure you apply questions about the species.
for the proper permits before shipping
your animals. Thank you for your assistance ____________________________
in helping to conserve these species for Dr. Leuteritz is a herpetologist and Chief of
future generations and traders. the Branch of Conservation Science Policy,
Division of Scientific Authority for CITES in the
One of the best-known herp species now featured International Program of the U.S. Fish and
on CITES Appendix II is the tokay gecko, see here in Wildlife Service. He works on reptile and
its Asian homeland, where it is now being heavily
amphibian trade issues pertaining to CITES
hunted for the medicinal trade. This has led to a
serious decline in its numbers in many countries among other issues. He also has extensive
within its native range. Photo courtesy kunmom/www. experience conducting field research on
shutterstock.com tortoises in Africa.
MARCH/APRIL 2020 | 33
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